Jade Dragon
by Eduard Kassel
Summary: It was over till it began again, the adventures of a brave young girls life. But all is not as it was. It is said to understand someone, you must walk a mile in their shoes. But does wearing their shoes mean you have to walk the same paths? NOT ShenduXJade!
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: Thanks to the efforts of legal sellswords . . .Ah never mind I will never own Jackie Chan Adventures. Why must you torment me with affirmations of my inferiority!_

_Betaed by Zim'smostloyalservant_

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><p><strong>Project Dark Jade Proudly Presents:<strong>

**The Jade Dragon**

Created by Nocturne no Kitsune

Written by Eduard Kassel

Prologue:

_What in the Name of…?_

Jackie Chan rolled to his feet on the cobbles of the courtyard, his eyes looking up to the demon on the raised segment before the palace, the burning portal before it. He couldn't help but appreciate the palace from what he could see. His profession was to reconstruct the past, and here it had come to life before him.

Be careful what you wish for is a very wise proverb, he decided, making his move towards better cover.

"Jackie Chan, right on cue," the demon spoke in a light teasing tone, the hiss lingering in the wake of the sentence. He froze, before rising into a stance as the demon glanced at him with blazing red eyes. He had expected rage, but the amusement he could swear he saw there was even worse.

"Yes, I knew you would be here, I dropped my name for just that reason. I imagine the captain and your uncle are lurking about in the hills somewhere," she chuckled, shaking her head. His expression grew grim at the veiled threat, and then his attention snapped to the portal as a dragon's head emerged, roaring.

The demoness stepped forward and to his shock stroked the dragon's jaw with one hand while scratching about its horns with the other. He couldn't make out her whispers, but the soothing tones were unmistakable. Like a man soothing his horse, he recalled from experience.

The dragon pulled back calmed, and the demon turned to regard him, fully frowning slightly. Turning away, she walked behind the portal, obscured from his sight for a moment.

She didn't emerge, a woman did. No, it was still her he realized on the heels of his thoughts.

She had shrunk to stand only two heads over him now, and her skin seemed unblemished by anything but scales. Her hair was unchanged, but her green sorcerer gown was replaced by a classical dress adorned with a pattern of green and gold he recognized as imitating her true hide. Her face did not match, too tanned and the features – while pretty – were not the stunning or horrifying visage one would expect. The eyes were red… no, brown!

He frowned at that, a mocking trick leaving a clue only for it to fall apart under inspection.

"I trust this form makes you more comfortable. Lo Pei was fond of it, though I never was able to get him to act on it. Why are the good ones the hard to get?

"Anyway, I know you wouldn't have just come here to die, your wizard gave you something you think can be used to stop me. But that is just a shred of hope you're packing, yes?" the disguised demoness asked.

"What is this?" Jackie demanded, watching her carefully.

"You caused me some trouble. I was afraid I would never escape my prison. I would sooner have that power at my side than in opposition," she explained, crossing her silk covered arms.

"Wah? You ask this as you get ready to destroy Asia?" Jackie asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Oh, is that what they say these days? I want to rule Asia, not destroy it. Even with dragons, don't you think that would be more trouble than it's worth? Which isn't to say I won't set a whole lot of people on fire and break a couple dozen cities.

"But Hong Kong doesn't need to be one. Join me, and I spare that city and bring it into my new Empire with minimal violence, and give it to you to rule in my name.

"A man of your talents should have your fellows at your feet, not be henpecked by the world around you! Serve me and stand down now, and you will rule Hong Kong and be a Warlord of my court," she declared, sweeping out her arms.

"Not even a little interested," he deadpanned. Pulling out a bottle, he poured its contents onto his hands, setting them aglow.

"Oh, not even for that price? It shouldn't be a surprise I guess, some things… they are just meant to be!" the Jade Dragon roared, her eyes flashing red as her clothes melted into her, returning to her true form.

**X X X**

"Hey now, you're probably wandering who left the gas on, or even more inappropriate phrases. Chiefly, you are wondering why me, your favorite supporting hero (I don't do sidekick!) is sporting scales and serious demon mojo. What's more, why is this set in a time you true blue fans now well, but all freaky wrong?

"And some are no doubt wondering where old demon breath is in this entire freaky mirror world thing you seem to be seeing. Well, funny it should be worded that way-

"But, I'm getting ahead of myself. So before we get into this warped take of an already bizarre New Year, let's go back to the beginning, or perhaps I should say the end?

"Hopefully it will make sense to you, because honestly it's still a bit confusing to me.

"It all started…"

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

_Bet you never thought this would show up eh? Me neither as a matter of fact. The first arc of this story has a big problem that I think is solved, but it was still the only story we considered seriously abandoning._

_This is posted now as a gauntlet thrown down for myself to write more. Don't expect prompt updates with my other commitments._ If you are watching out there Nocturne, I hope this meets your approval.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not Own JCA or any Marvel Comics Characters.

_Betaed by:_ Zim'smostloyalservant

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Forward unto Yesterday

'The final battle… well, until the next one, of course!' The watcher thought wryly. Below her in the stadium, she watched as old enemies and allies fought together against Drago's power play. In her opinion, unleashing Shendu had been a poor move. After all, using evil to defeat evil was not exactly how the Chan family claimed to operate.

She wondered if Uncle had in fact been hoping for the outcome she knew full well was coming. Namely, that the two opposing evil forces would eliminate each other. If so, it put him into a more pragmatic realm than most gave the old wizard credit for.

But he was not her concern, the watcher admitted, reaching into the black robe that covered her form. She pulled out a mirror from the robe. It was round and set in a rust-speckled frame adorned with faded engravings. Unimpressive to say the least, as the mirror itself was no bigger than a grown man's fist.

Then one would notice that the mirror reflected nothing. At least, the mirror facing out did not. The watcher peered through the face of the mirror directed towards her, "seeing" through the other lens as if through a fog. Only the faces below were clear.

"There," she smiled, as the so-called Master of the Zodiac's face filled the glass. Just in time, as one of his long life's few acts of genuine mercy was met with betrayal. With another word, the image was locked, even as father and son fell to their defeat.

More would come now, the forging of new alliances and the mending of old enmities. But these were of little concern; each coin had two sides, just like the mirror. Another face was needed, but the time was just as important.

Watch and wait, and then there would be more watching. At least the boring part would soon be done, and the matter would soon rather literally be out of her black-gloved hands.

**XXX**

Having finished brushing her teeth, Jade gargled and spat out the paste and water. She gave a sigh as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had decided to forego a shower until morning.

The excitement of the grand finale demon battle had been wearing off. Jackie had agreed to accompany Captain Black to ensure Hak Foo didn't try anything funny. And Tohru was eager to help with the process for his former, and possibly future, buddies the Enforcers. Uncle, for his part, after declaring Tohru a full-fledged chi wizard, had decided to go over the stadium with a fine-toothed magical comb.

Considering how many times Dragon Breath had made surprise comebacks, no one could fault him on the paranoia.

Which left her getting sent home to get some sleep. It wasn't like Jackie was doing anything remotely fun, as the former baddies got set up for evaluation, but this just seemed wrong. This was like blowing up the Death Star!

Shouldn't there be some big party for the fact they had saved the world, or at least some fancy ceremony to get medals or something? Instead they got cleaned up, and the next day it would probably be routine.

That, and the realization Jackie would never want her to be an agent. Oh, she knew it was all him wanting her to be safe. But it hurt that he didn't seem to understand she was not cut out for a dull life. Writing reports, getting henpecked by some fat boss over petty details? Same ol' grind, day-in, day-out, with the only potential distraction being marriage and a family?

If these adventures had proved anything, it was that Jade Chan was meant for a life more extraordinary. She wasn't Tohru, who would rather wash dishes than lead. Or Uncle, who would rather haggle over antiques than come up with new spells. Or Jackie, who would rather dig up pottery with brushes than foil ancient cults. And sadly, she had little in common with very good but very dull people like her parents.

But now the Talismans were gone, and with them, that future with her as Section 13's head seemed that much more improbable. The future that had Jackie almost breakdown had reassured her she was in fact on course for her dream.

But with the Talismans gone, and the dragons, there was some feeling of finality. A chapter coming to a close. Were her adventures over, with nothing to look forward to after than the normal life everybody else seemed to want for her?

"Ugh, angst much? Pull it together Jade! Every other evil blindsided us, and how often do bad guys actually stay down?

"And Uncle would be yelling at me for wishing for danger, and I would be feeling guilty for knowing he was right.

"Fine, get to bed, and this will all feel better in the morning," she told her reflection. With a little smile, she gave her reflection a nod and hopped down from the stool. At the very least, her future self still assured her she would not be a small fry forever.

She pushed open the door to her bedroom and her eyes widened like saucers.

A black-robed figure stood towering in her room. Red eyes watched her from beneath a black cowl. It was taller than Jackie, its form looking female beneath the black cloth as it raised a black-gloved hand. It spoke, confirming its gender with a deep but definitely feminine voice.

"I assure you, the times before you are anything but mundane," it spoke. It whipped out something from one wide sleeve, and held in its hand a small round mirror. Jade saw her face reflected in it. Then the mirror flipped over in the frame, revealing Shendu's face.

"Mirror of Fate, behold two who would presume to mar the pages of your brother. I bid thee, spin fate anew, let the paths intertwined become as one another. Let the journey be reborn anew. Bind and bend until one reaches thy end once again!" the figure chanted. The glass ignited in blazing white as the figure released it to float in the air.

Jade slid in the doorway, and had time to grab onto the doorframe before suction pulled her feet off the ground.

"JACKIE!" Jade screamed as she felt her grip start to slip. She heard a dragon roar and wondered what could be going wrong now?

"I am sorry Jade, but he won't be able to help you where you are going," the intruder's voice managed to carry effortlessly over the wind.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Jade screamed as her grip came loose and she went flying backward into the light.

**XXX**

Outside, a man watched from the rooftop across the street as the light of fate flared and vanished in the upper floor of the antique shop. He closed his eyes for moment, offering a prayer to the higher powers, both for those complicit in these events, and for the child.

An orange cape trimmed with gold concealed most of his frame. His face was handsome, with a strong chin, a thin mustache, and the marks of a man entering middle age. His hair was dark, save for the silver temples, and somewhat wild, though too short to make much mischief with that freedom. He did not look pleased at the moment.

Despite taking no great effort to conceal himself, the instigator of tonight's events was visibly surprised to see him when she alighted onto the roof.

"Stephen?! What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I am here by the request of the Council, and by virtue of Aacrad's Doorway of Ten Thousand Inversions," he answered her calmly.

"Stupid door; makes me look bad. You have any idea what dimension jumping does to my health at my age?" she grumbled.

"The Door takes its toll on those of us whose design was not made for crossing the lines of reality. But I had heard you had settled down to pursue an uni-dimensional existence once again," he remarked.

"You heard right. A nice place – you don't exist there," she snapped, crossing her arms. Closing his eyes, he chuckled, before fixing her with a serious look.

"Still, this is not like you. Isn't it rather hypocritical to be meddling like this after telling so many powerful people off on respecting free will?" he asked.

"Probably. But the old jerk lugging around that piece of wood is probably laughing about me finally coming around. Darn it," she muttered. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"And I'm guessing you aren't just here to semi-lecture me? What, you here to chaperone and make sure I don't take any liberties?" she demanded. Before he could answer, the world seemed to melt around them, bits of the roof bubbling up and floating in the air as the sky twisted above them.

"The Mirror is taking full effect; might we move this discussion to the next reality over?" Stephen asked politely.

"Are you asking me on a date?!" she demanded. But despite the mock outrage, she held out her hands and traced a circle as tall as her in the air, leaving lines of billowing darkness in its wake. Darkness filled the circle's center and retreated into itself, creating a tunnel of darkness with a distant point of daylight.

"Come on then, I don't want you gunking up the magic with that oversized chin of yours. If I have to make a second attempt, I'll be hobbled and drinking spice pinch tea for months. Have you ever tasted that stuff? Not to mention the side effects if you get the dosage wrong, Mr. 'I have a magic door with a stupid name'!" she griped, stepping into the portal. Stephen ducked down to follow her into the portal, letting it close behind him as a world was remade.

**XXX**

Jade groaned as she woke up. That was some strange dream.

Eyes still closed, she made to scratch her nose… only for her hand to not respond. In fact, her whole body felt stiff, and erect?

Her eyes opened, and she looked out over a big desk in a big plush office.

"What the?" Jade cursed, straining against whatever was holding her in place. Her eyes cast down, and she could see her hands. Aside from looking bigger and with longer fingers than she remembered ever having, and with actual fingernails for that matter, they seemed to be encased in jade.

"What the fuck?!" Jade shouted, her vision flaring red.

"Oh, have you heard already then?" a very familiar voice called. A voice with a stuck-up English accent. The double door across from her opened, letting Valmont enter in all his green-suited glory.

"Valmont? What are you doing here?" Jade demanded. The fallen, but apparently back on his feet, crime boss frowned and cocked an eyebrow as he planted his cane. When did he get the cane back, Jade wondered?

"Despite letting you take up residence, Fei Cui Huo(1), this is still my office. So, save perhaps for your immobile self, I have more right to be here than anyone," Valmont stated dryly.

"What? Fei who now?" Jade snapped.

"Fei Cui Huo, you insisted on the full name. Frankly, if this is your way of retracting a request, I think I prefer your stubbornness," Valmont snarked.

"What did you do me?! What is going on?!" she demanded.

"If you want privacy after losing a talisman to that Chan fellow, I can understand. But the insane act does not suit you, and I have work to do if we are to gather the other Talismans. In an hour I will be back, and I hope we can discuss matters like sane people once more," Valmont sighed, stepping back to make an exit.

"Wait!" Jade called before he closed the door.

Her mind rewound, trying to understand what was going on. It locked in on that spooky figure, apparently not a dream. What had she said?

…

…

Oh. Bad, bad, bad, bad day, Jade thought as the words sank in. And the image of Shendu…

"Shadowkhan?" she spoke. Sure enough, four of the shadow ninja rose on the other side of the desk. And she was taller than them?

"A mirror," she whispered her demand. The Shadowkhan stepped apart and reached down into the floor, pulling a tall, black-rimmed, full-length mirror up from the shadows. They set it up quickly, letting her see herself.

An imposing figure, like her as an adult, but bigger, with scales on the face and hands, the rest covered by a sorcerer's gown, hair that fell to her ankles, a mouth that was opening a bit too wide, and full of sharp, long teeth, and claws that she had mistaken for fingernails. And a single horn, curving up from the center of her brow.

All of it encased in green jade, save for a pair of brightly glowing red eyes.

"I need the Rat talisman," she whispered.

**XXX**

_"And that, ladies and gentleman, is how everything went all topsy-turvy. And yes, I know the whole 'be careful what you wish for' deal. You think I wasn't thinking about that while being petrified?"_

_"Well, more on that later. I admit, despite how bad I realized the situation was, it was going to be a lot more than any adventure I had ever had…"_

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><p>1). I understand it translates to<strong> "<strong>Green Jade Fire". Nocturne was much better at this translation stuff than me. And would you believe we never selected a Demon name for her before he went off? This name came from the internet; So if anyone out there looks at this and sees a botch in the Chinese name, pm me respectfully please.

**Author's Note:**

_Did you think there was no more? _

_Happy upcoming new years, with long days and pleasant and nights._


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